Mirosevic Gets Started

Less than 24 hours after arriving in Columbus for the first time in his life, 31-year-old
Milovan Mirosevic practiced with his new Crew teammates for the first time Tuesday morning.

“I’ve been a foreign player in other countries and I know what it means in the way of the
pressure,” he said afterward. “They always expect more from us. That’s natural and that’s normal. I
have to feel pressure but it’s pressure I’ve always felt in my career so I’m OK with it.”

A team captain for Universidad Catolica from the Chilean First Division, Mirosevic signed with
the Crew during the winter. The midfielder initially considered signing with the team one year ago
but could not be released from his contract. After negotiating a change that would allow him to
leave after the 2011 season and spending the whole year in close contact with fellow Chilean
Sebastian Miranda, Mirosevic opted to make the move.

During practice, Mirosevic and Miranda were nearly inseparable as the second-year defender
showed him the ropes. The team trained for about an hour and a half on the indoor turf field at
SuperKick/TeamZone in Lewis Center, Ohio. He was formally introduced to the team as the players
gathered in a circle before beginning conditioning drills.

The Crew went through some six-on-six scrimmages on a shortened field and Mirosevic and
Miranda were paired up on a team that went 2-1 in round-robin play.

“I think it was good,” coach Robert Warzycha said of Mirosevic’s first day. “Basically he’s a
good player. Obviously the turf is a little different than the outdoors and he came from a little
bit different weather but he’s going to have to make an adjustment a little bit.”

Since so many of you have asked, I asked both Miranda and Mirosevic about comparisons between
the new player and Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Here’s what Mirosevic had to say: “I know him
because I played in Argentina also for years so I played against him. As far as his characteristics
as a player, we are totally different. He’s more like a wing and I play in the midfield. He’s more
like a forward. The similar things are we from Chile and Argentina, almost the same place.”

He also described Schelotto as a “crack,” which he then clarified to mean a star.

Defender Chad Marshall was back in action after battling what he was a flu-like bug that has
bothered him for about a week. He missed yesterday’s training for a doctor’s appointment and said
he’s taking an antibiotic. He is continuing to recover from off-season ankle surgery.

"It’s not 100 percent, especially playing on the turf," Marshall said. "I’m just trying to get
through it without injuring myself too badly and get to Florida and hopefully when I’m on grass I
can be full-go."

Also back for limited duty was keeper William Hesmer, who has been battling an ankle injury.
Hesmer did not take part in the scrimmaging but was able to go through position drills.

An observation: draftee Aubrey Perry looks very smooth going through drills. There’s a long
way to go before the roster is set, but I’ve been impressed with his speed and his skill around the
ball.

As for the scrimmaging, Tommy Heinemann had two goals and assisted on one scored by Shaun
Francis, Bernardo Anor also had two goals and Ethan Finlay had one as well.

Also in attendance was former Crew forward Sebastian Rozental, who watched the team train from
the sidelines.
Here is a
photo of him years ago alongside former Ohio State football standout Anthony Gonzalez.